The Greatest Story Ever Told (Movie Only Edition)
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Features
• Anamorphic
• Closed-captioned
• Color
• DVD-Video
• NTSC
In Theaters : 1965
DVD Release : 06 July, 2004 |
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The Greatest Story Ever Told (Movie Only Edition) description
The life of Christ got an excessively long treatment (260 minutes, later trimmed to 195) in this 1965 film directed by George Stevens (The Diary of Anne Frank). Max von Sydow does beautiful work as Jesus--his spontaneous mourning at discovering his friend Lazarus has died is not like anything in other New Testament epics--and Stevens renders the familiar tale with a handsome authenticity. But the project is nearly undone by an unwise gimmick in which seemingly half of Hollywood's living stars at the time make brief (often very brief) cameo appearances, some of which are ridiculous. But there is a lot to like in the film, and Von Sydow's sensitive nobility sticks in the memory. --Tom Keogh |
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The Greatest Story Ever Told (Movie Only Edition) Customer Reviews
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The Greatest Story Ever Told (Movie Only Edition)
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The Greatest Story Ever Told
To begin: the desert cinematography reminded me of a John Ford's western.
In fact it was filmed in some of the same locales. The American Southwest is a beautiful place, but it was not the right choice for a biblical epic.
Of course, the music of Alfred Newman was beautifully performed with parts of Handel's Messiah and Verdi's Requiem tossed into the mix. The Messiah's pieces were a bit jarring to one's concentration.
The music and the cinematography were nominated for academy awards. Dr. Zhivago would take these Oscars.
The cast was a Who's Who of Hollywood from Charleston Heston as John the Baptist to John Wayne as the Roman Centurion. Unfortunately, the famous cast was one of the movie's primary weaknesses.
Max von Sydow, the great actor, looked totally uncomfortable in the role of Jesus. Those vivid blue eyes of his throughout the film detracted from the simple story of the carpenter from Nazareth whose message of peace and love changed the Roman World.
Charleston Heston's John the Baptist had moments of credence, but there were too many moments where the portrayal bordered on the comical. The man who played Moses, Ben Hur, and El Cid deserved a better script.
The talented David McCallum's Judas was well done, even though the depth of Judas' struggle with his soul was only briefly touched on in this film. His symbolic death at the altar was the last act of a movie which could have been the greatest story ever told. Since the law of God denounced human sacrifice and suicide, this was Judas' final act of blasphemy.
This was one of George Stevens' last films. One can tell that he placed a great emphasis on reverence in this film, especially with the soft spoken words of the Gospels, the lavish sets and the piety on the faces of those who believed in Jesus. It must have pained him greatly that the viewing public did not embrace his vision of the Christ. Perhaps the problem was the turbulent mid-1960's. This film was the last of the biblical epics for a long time to come.
With these failings, the movie became just one of the tales of the Christ in the film vaults of the world. Overall, it was a disappointing film with rare moments of beauty and pathos. For those who are not concerned about historical and biblical accuracy and just want an Easter treat, this would be a good film.
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The Greatest Story Ever Told (Movie Only Edition) dvd movie.